Morning Edition

Monday through Friday, 5am - 9am

Waking up is hard to do, but it's easier with NPR's Morning Edition. NPR's Renée Montagne and Steve Inskeep, along with WNIJ's Dan Klefstad, bring the day's stories and news to radio listeners on the go. Morning Edition provides news in context, airs thoughtful ideas and commentary, and reviews important new music, books, and events in the arts. All with voices and sounds that invite listeners to experience the stories.

Israel has announced a new deal to exchange prisoners. It involves an Israeli-American who's been held in Egypt for the past four months. Ilan Grapel will be freed from Egyptian custody this afternoon in return for 25 Egyptian prisoners freed by Israel. The deal was mediated by the U.S. Sheera Frenkel reports from Jerusalem.

Manhattan violinist Martin Stoner, 60, sued the nonprofit Young Concert Artists after it barred him from a contest based on age restrictions. When his ageism suit was thrown out, reports the New York Daily News, Stoner moved to have the 88-year-old judge replaced, saying the judge isn't qualified — because he's too old.

An unnamed actress is suing Amazon for more than a million dollars for revealing her age on the Amazon-owned Internet Movie Database, or IMDB. The lawsuit says the actress is many years older than she looks, and that being "perceived to be over the hill" will hurt her career.

Consumer Reports has come out with its ranking of car reliability. Toyota's Scion brand topped the list. Luxury carmaker Jaguar was at the bottom. Chrysler was rated most improved. NPR's Sonari Glinton has more.

One of the biggest drags on the economy is the poor housing market. Low mortgage rates should make it easy for homeowners to refinance and save money, but many people don't qualify, so they're stuck making payments on homes that are worth less than the loan.

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne with news of an unusual winning entry in Houston's annual Caesar salad competition. Best Presentation went to a Caesar salad cotton candy. As the Houston Press reports, the cotton candy was spun onto a cone made of romaine lettuce. Shredded parmesan cheese and black pepper were woven into the candy's pink fibers. It's not the most surprising entry. Last year's event included Caesar salad cupcakes and Caesar sorbet. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Here's one way to get rid of an invasive species - eat it. The snakehead fish arrived in Washington almost a decade ago. It's a scary looking marine predator that can even slither over land. In Asia, snakeheads are a delicacy, so tonight in Maryland a group of celebrity chefs will prepare the fish to appeal to American palates. One chef deep fries snakehead nuggets for a dish he calls frankenfish tacos. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.